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PPA: More than just prescription assistance

Since its launch in 2005, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance – or PPA – has helped connect nearly 9.5 million people with public and private patient assistance programs. A nationwide effort sponsored by America’s biopharmaceutical research companies, PPA is a free service that helps uninsured or underinsured patients access programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free.

PPA offers a single point of access to information on hundreds of public and private patient assistance programs, including nearly 200 programs offered by biopharmaceutical companies. The PPA’s easy-to-use website – www.pparx.org – makes it simple for a patient or patient advocate to complete the online application with basic information. The PPA then matches the patient with assistance programs for which they may be eligible.

But that’s not all that PPA does. For instance, the website connects diabetes patients with information about programs that provide financial assistance for supplies and related health care items and services. These may include free glucose meters, test strips, insulin syringes, medical testing, service animals, and more. Millions of Americans suffer from diabetes, and with 180 new diabetes medicines in development, PPA is committed to ensuring that information on programs designed to help diabetes patients are accessible.

PPA has helped millions of people find access to programs that provide prescription medicines and supplies for free or nearly free. Through a continued effort, PPA delivers hope to millions of people and strives to help them live longer and healthier lives.

Ieva M. Augstums Ieva (YEH-vuh), Deputy Vice President of Public Affairs, joined PhRMA in 2014 and now oversees all branding and paid advertising, including PhRMA’s national multi-year GOBOLDLY campaign. She reported on the 2008 financial crisis and other financial market news during ten years as a journalist at the Dallas Morning News and the Associated Press, then directed national campaigns at a Washington-based strategic communications and brand consulting firm. A native Nebraskan, Ieva is a proud mother of two, dreams of opening a paperie and never passes up an opportunity to lace up for a rave run.